Abstract. It has been long argued that learning analytics has the potential to act as a "middle space" between the learning sciences and data analytics, creating technical possibilities for exploring the vast amount of data generated in online learning environments. One common learning analytics intervention is the learning dashboard, a support tool for teachers and learners alike that allows them to gain insight into the learning process. Although several related works have scrutinised the state-of-the-art in the field of learning dashboards, none have addressed the theoretical foundation that should inform the design of such interventions. In this systematic literature review, we analyse the extent to which theories and models from learning sciences have been integrated into the development of learning dashboards aimed at learners. Our critical examination reveals the most common educational concepts and the context in which they have been applied. We find evidence that current designs foster competition between learners rather than knowledge mastery, offering misguided frames of reference for comparison.

Abstract. This longitudinal study explores the effects of tracking and monitoring time devoted to learn with a mobile tool, on self-regulated learning. Graduate students (n=36) from three different online courses used their own mobile devices to track how much time they devoted to learn over a period of four months. Repeated measures of the Online Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire and Validity and Reliability of Time Management Questionnaire were taken along the course. Our findings reveal positive effects of tracking time on time management skills. Variations in the channel, content and timing of the mobile notifications to foster reflective practice are investigated, and timelogging patterns are described. These results not only provide evidence of the benefits of recording learning time, but also suggest relevant cues on how mobile notifications should be designed and prompted towards self-regulated learning of students in online courses.

No abstract

Multimodality in learning analytics and learning science is under the spotlight. The landscape of sensors and wearable trackers that can be used for learning support is evolving rapidly, as well as data collection and analysis methods. Multimodal data can now be collected and processed in real time at an unprecedented scale. With sensors, it is possible to capture observable events of the learning process such as learner's behaviour and the learning context. The learning process, however, consists also of latent attributes, such as the learner's cognitions or emotions. These attributes are unobservable to sensors and need to be elicited by human-driven interpretations. We conducted a literature survey of experiments using multimodal data to frame the young research field of multimodal learning analytics. The survey explored the multimodal data used in related studies (the input space) and the learning theories selected (the hypothesis space). The survey led to the formulation of the Multimodal Learning Analytics Model whose main objectives are of (O1) mapping the use of multimodal data to enhance the feedback in a learning context; (O2) showing how to combine machine learning with multimodal data; and (O3) aligning the terminology used in the field of machine learning and learning science. KEYWORDSlearning analytics, machine learning, multimodal data, multimodality, sensors, social signal processing | INTRODUCTIONWith the rise of data-driven techniques to discover insights and generate predictions from the learning process such as learning analytics, the need for 360°data about learners has grown consistently. Combining data coming from multiple sources has become a prominent necessity in learning research and has led to an increased interest in multimodality and consequently into multimodal data analysis. To clarify the concept of multimodality, we use the definition provided by Nigay and Coutaz. The term "multi" refers to "more than one", whereas the term "modal" stands both for "modality" and for "mode". The modality is the type of communication channel used by two agents to convey and acquire information that defines the data exchange.The mode is the state that determines the context in which the information is interpreted (Nigay & Coutaz, 1993). The reasons why multimodality in learning is drawing so much attention can be summarized according to four developments.First of all, multimodality is a consolidated theory. It has been subjected of investigation already for two decades in different fields including functional linguistic, conversational analysis, and social semiotics (Jewitt, Bezemer, & O'Halloran, 2016). Research in multimodal interaction investigated how different modalities interact andThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

Gamification has recently been presented as a successful strategy to engage users, with potential for online education. However, while the number of publications on gamification has been increasing in recent years, a classification of its empirical effects is still missing. We present a systematic literature review conducted with the purpose of closing this gap by clarifying what effects gamification generates on users’ behaviour in online learning. Based on the studies analysed, the game elements most used in the literature are identified and mapped with the effects they produced on learners. Furthermore, we cluster these empirical effects of gamification into six areas: performance, motivation, engagement, attitude towards gamification, collaboration, and social awareness. The findings of our systematic literature review point out that gamification and its application in online learning and in particular in Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) are still a young field, lacking in empirical experiments and evidence with a tendency of using gamification mainly as external rewards. Based on these results, important considerations for the gamification design of MOOCs are drawn.